


Grim Grinning Ghosts

by madridistagoblue



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Disney World & Disneyland, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-27
Updated: 2015-04-27
Packaged: 2018-03-26 01:27:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3832021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madridistagoblue/pseuds/madridistagoblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"There are good decisions and bad decisions. And then there are decisions which no sane person should ever make under any circumstances. Making a bet with Akashi Seijuurou had to fall under the third category. After all, Akashi never loses." </p>
<p>When Furihata Kouki bets that he and his boyfriend can't make it onto every single attraction at Walt Disney World, Akashi Seijuurou takes it as a challenge to prove him wrong. But when it comes time to ride The Haunted Mansion, Furihata doesn't want to go. Can Akashi convince Furihata to overcome his fear? Or will the Seirin point guard's insecurities drive him and the ever confident Rakuzan captain apart? [AkaFuri; Furihata's POV]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Grim Grinning Ghosts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Life_on_Vega](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Life_on_Vega/gifts).



> Based on the prompt: "Akafuri. They go to Disney World and ride the Haunted Mansion. Does anyone freak out or lose their cool?"

There are good decisions and bad decisions. And then there are decisions which no sane person should ever make under any circumstances. Making a bet with Akashi Seijuurou had to fall under the third category. After all, Akashi never loses. 

Or, at least, he  _almost_ never lost. It wasn't completely true anymore. In fact, Akashi Seijuurou had now lost a grand total of three times in his life. Furihata Kouki knew. He kept a list. It had started out as a motivational thing, back when he and Seijuurou had first started dating. Rakuzan had suffered a single-point defeat at the hands of Shuutoku, finishing second at the Inter-High. Kouki had tried to cheer his boyfriend up by comparing the number of losses the young Akashi heir had ever suffered in his life (two, at the time) to the number of mistakes Kouki could make in ten minutes. It was supposed to be humorous. Somehow, over time, it had turned into Seijuurou’s personal scorecard instead. Now, the red-headed perfectionist was bound and determined to stay below five. And if anyone could accomplish something so absurd, well, he could. 

Which brings Kouki back to the bet that he was almost certain to lose. To be honest, it wasn’t much of a bet -- more like a challenge. They hadn’t placed any stakes on winning or losing. In fact, it wasn’t meant to be a game at all. But when the Seirin point guard stepped out of the Orlando airport, onto the Magical Express, and began to look over the carefully mapped out schedule his boyfriend had planned for their trip, he made a fatal error. (As per usual.)

“I bet we won’t have time to try all of the attractions,” Kouki had said, more or less casually, with, perhaps, a bit of disappointment in his tone. 

And, then, from the window seat came his reply. “Nonsense, Kouki. Challenge accepted.” 

Now it was almost the end of the second day of their bet. Having conquered every attraction at EPCOT (one of the easiest of the four parks), Kouki and Seijuurou had now managed to visit all but four attractions at the Magic Kingdom. And all well before the fireworks and extra magic hours began. (Because, of course, Seijuurou had meticulously planned their itinerary around those special days when the parks were open late.) Turns out that with a bit of planning ahead, frequently checking the wait times, and some brisk walking, getting onto every attraction was a completely feasible task. 

Despite feeling somewhat absurd for having accidentally challenged the former captain of the Generation of Miracles, Kouki had to say he was pleased with the results. He and Seijuurou had visited Tokyo Disneyland numerous times, but this was their first time flying out to the large American resort. So, of course, he was hoping to try as many new attractions as possible. Seems that now he was going to get to try them all. He’d even sat through the entire Hall of Presidents. (It turned out to be a pretty nice place to take a nap.) 

The trek through the last four attractions began smoothly enough. The couple headed to Tomorrowland to catch their fastpass times for Space Mountain and then walked across the way to play Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. (Seijuurou scored a perfect score of 999,999, of course, despite the fact that the laser guns were a completely different design from the ones in Tokyo. But what did Kouki really expect? At least he managed to get to 23,000.)  Seijuurou suggested that they save Astro Orbiter for after dark, so that left just one attraction. 

 “I refuse.” Furihata Kouki said staunchly, looking Akashi Seijuurou straight in his ruby-red eyes. “I’m not going on the Haunted Mansion.” 

Seijuurou let out an exasperated sigh and crossed his arms. “It’s only a ride Kouki. I assure you, it’s not really haunted.” 

“But I don’t  _want to,_ Sei!” Kouki whined. “Doesn't that count for anything? Or do you only care about winning the bet?” 

Seijuurou’s eyebrows furrowed instantaneously and he dropped his arms to his sides. His eyes narrowed and the corners of his lips fell flat. Shit. Kouki had just pushed  _exactly_ the wrong buttons. 

“Kouki,” Seijuurou began, pronouncing the syllables the same way Furihata’s own mother might have. “Going on a ride is not going to put you in any danger. If I seriously believed that taking on this challenge would bring any harm to you, I would never have accepted it. I have told you quite plainly, in no uncertain terms, that after what happened at Teiko, I will accept defeat, rather than cause anyone further harm.” He looked Kouki in the eye in silence for a minute, as though somehow making sure the words had sunk into his partner’s mind. Satisfied, he let out another sigh, and crossed his arms again, his angered expression now changing to a milder pout. “But, no, Kouki,” he continued, “I’m still Akashi Seijuurou, and I’m not going to lose now just because you're scared!” 

Kouki could feel himself beginning to tense up. He was never good at following up on such a forceful statement. He always froze up, be it in front of coach, or Hyuuga-senpai, or even in front of Kuroko _,_ who hardly was the intimidating type (well, except with his play on the court.) But since knowing Seijuurou, he had slowly -- very slowly -- been finding his real courage. And today he was going to defeat Akashi Seijuurou. One-on-one. Plain and simple. 

“No.” 

“No, what?” Seijuurou responded. 

“Nothing you can say will make me go on this ride. That’s loss number four.” 

“Nothing I can say?” Seijuurou chuckled, his lips turning upward and his eyes lighting up. Now he was enjoying the challenge. 

“Nope,” Kouki replied, teasingly, shaking his head. Somehow this was quickly turning from something serious into a strange but fun game to see who would relent first. 

“Yet, I seem to recall, Kouki, a conversation we had a while back,” Seijuurou said, looking into the distance, as though actually conjuring up the memory. “If my memory serves me correctly -- and it always does -- you told me that you wanted me to help you become less afraid of things. Such as -- and you went on to name several examples -- scary movies, spiders, public speaking, Coach Aida, and your irrational fear of getting lost at my estate. To which I assure you, Kouki, the grounds are not so large that we will ever be separated for hours like you insist. I don’t know why you’re still afraid of that. But, I digress.” 

Kouki sighed. He could tell where this argument was going, and, inevitably, Seijuurou was about to win again. He really did want to stop being so much of a coward. And that’s all this was, wasn't it? His irrational fears getting the best of him again. 

Seijuurou uncrossed his arms and took a step closer to Kouki, offering the brunette his hand. Kouki looked down, somewhat confused, but intertwined his fingers with Seijuurou’s all the same. 

“I’ll be right here, the whole time,” Seijuurou said, softly, the argumentative tone dropped from his voice in favor of something calming and gentle. “You can hold onto my hand, like this, if it would make you feel more comfortable. It’s not a very long ride. But you can tell all your friends back at Seirin that you made it through the whole thing. I bet even Kagami Taiga wouldn't be able to, don’t you think?” 

Kouki laughed and nodded at his boyfriend. “Thanks, Sei. I guess it’s worth a try, isn’t it?” 

Seijuurou nodded slightly, then took the opportunity to pull Kouki with him over into the queue. Kouki squeezed his hand as they inched up in the line, shooting nervous glances at the decorum of mock gravestones and crypts. 

Kouki could feel his breath settling as they walked through the queue. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. But every time they came up to another mock crypt, or he looked at the gravestones for too long, he started questioning this whole plan again. (Even though he could tell that most of the gravestones were full of English puns. Not that he could understand all of them. Seijuurou might have gotten more out of it -- he was fluent in English, after all. It was too bad Izuki wasn’t better at the language, though, or Kouki would have taken pictures. He would be the type to appreciate this sort of humor.) 

“We've seen enough now, right, Sei?” Kouki interjected as Seijuurou put his hand on one of the mock crypts in the queue. (How in the world was he brave enough to touch that thing!?) He gently yanked on Seijuurou’s arm. He wasn’t even feeling very scared right now, but he knew that if the queue creeped him out, there wasn’t much chance that he’d survive the inside. 

“Kouki,” the Rakuzan captain sighed, as he brushed his hand against the silhouettes of musical instruments, music following after him as he did so. He looked down at the other point guard’s eyes sternly. “You’re going inside.” 

“Why?” he pouted, in a tone that was somewhat childlike and too teasing to dissuade anyone, let alone Akashi. 

“Because,” Seijuurou quipped back, “my orders are absolute.” 

“Not funny,” Kouki whined, elbowing his boyfriend. Seijuurou looked down to chuckle at the smaller point guard’s feeble attempt to hit him, and Kouki took the opportunity just to double check that his eyes were still matched in color. Really, he didn’t understand why Seijuurou found it funny to jokingly throw around his other personality’s catchphrases. He was just thankful that no one around them at the moment spoke Japanese, or it might worry for Kouki’s safety, being bossed around like that. But, Kuroko had told him once that this was probably Akashi’s way of dealing with his other side. And, well, Kouki wasn’t going to mess with his boyfriend’s mental health needs. (And truth be told, he knew both Seijuurous well enough by now that maybe he was cracking a bit of a smile.) 

The rest of the queue passed quickly enough, and they were ushered into the dark hall of the mansion and queued into a waiting room that was far too small. Now Kouki could feel himself shaking all over again. This was far too dim and far too cramped. The portraits on the wall were innocuous enough, but it still felt like some small and evil incarnation of Seijuurou’s father’s study (and that place was cold and creepy enough as is.) He looked up at Sei for a moment, wondering if his boyfriend had the same thought. The hardened look in the red-head’s eyes suggested that it just might have. Alright, Kouki was going to try and be brave! For Seijuurou’s sake, if nothing else. 

The idea lasted only until the sudden voice of the narrator chuckled ominously. Kouki literally jumped, and Seijuurou squeezed his hand. Kouki was shaking even harder now. He tried to drown out the narrator by letting his thoughts wander off in Japanese, so that he wouldn’t process any of the English. But he recognized enough words here and there that his discomfort persisted (and this was a very poor time to realize that Seijuurou’s tutoring had helped him improve his English dramatically.) 

That’s when the room started...stretching? He closed his eyes and moved closer to Seijuurou. 

“Kouki, it’s a ride,” Seijuurou whispered in his ear. “These are special effects. It’s not haunted.” 

“Is it almost over? Please?” Kouki whimpered. He tried to steady his hands, but it was impossible. He opened his eyes again, only to look at Seijuurou’s reassuring presence. Nothing was going to happen to him that Akashi couldn’t handle. Right? 

That’s when the lights blinked off. A woman’s voice screamed. And then, Kouki screamed. 

He felt Seijuurou grab his shoulders and, instead of entering the embrace he hoped for, he was spun him around, just in time to realize that the wall behind him was actually a door. Seijuurou pushed him gently and they emerged as the first in line to enter the moving vehicles. 

“Wow, good job Sei,” Kouki complimented him on finding the exit, though he could barely move towards the car. His legs were shaking and only Seijouurou’s arm on his shoulder was keeping him moving forward. 

“There was a sensor at the edge of the wall. I could tell immediately that it had to be the exit,” he explained. “Like I told you, Kouki, these things are all carefully designed. There’s nothing harmful in here.” 

“I know, I know,” Kouki verbally agreed. Now, if only his pounding heart and his shaking limbs would agree too. 

He sat down in one of the vehicles next to Seijuurou and firmly gripped the handle bar, his palms sweating profusely. The red-head placed a hand over his own and gently pressed down. 

“It will be over soon, ok?” he promised. 

Kouki nodded. 

The ride went...alright...at first. Kouki wasn't fond of the ghosts -- and he could not stop shaking -- even though Seijuurou tried to point out that some of the scenes were rather humorous. Eventually, Kouki decided the best course of action was to lean back, close his eyes, and hum to the tune of one of his favorite songs. He could still feel his heart pounding in his chest, but at least it would be over soon. And then he could tell all of his teammates back at Seirin how brave he had been! That thought cheered him up and he tried to enjoy the feeling of the ride vehicle slowly moving down the track and the warmth of Seijuurou at his side. 

The car turned backwards, causing Kouki to blink his eyes open and stutter incoherently, but Seijuurou told him that it was just like Spaceship Earth at EPCOT, and he shouldn't panic. Recalling the other ride in question, Kouki nodded, feeling himself grow into a sense of ease for the first time this whole ride. He kept his eyes open, and though it was dark, there was nothing that scary around him. Maybe he was getting braver. 

That’s when the vehicle stopped, suddenly. 

Kouki waited. Alright, he thought to himself. This is just another ride mechanic. We’ll get going again soon. He looked over at Seijuurou for reassurance. But the point guard looked confused as well and was now beginning to scowl. So...this really wasn't supposed to happen. Was it? He could feel himself shaking all over again, and he gripped the handlebars even tighter. 

“S-seijuurou,” he whimpered. 

“We've stopped,” the captain mused. “I think the ride is malfunctioning. But it’s likely not much. We’ll probably get going again soon.” 

The music cut out and the animatronics stood still. 

“S-sei,” Kouki called his boyfriend’s name again. 

“It’s alright, Kouki,” he said, putting an arm around the fidgeting boy now. “Just be patient.” 

Kouki tried to be patient. Minutes may have passed.  Kouki wasn’t sure. The music came back, only to cut out again. 

“Attention, passengers, attention passengers,” a female voice called over the loudspeaker. “Please remain seated with your hands, arms, feet and legs inside the vehicle. Some unexpected ghosts have caused trouble in the mansion, but we’ll get it taken care of as soon as possible. Once again, please remain seated, the ride will begin again shortly.” 

Furihata Kouki’s English may not have been perfect. There may have been a word or two that he didn’t quite catch of the announcement. But he heard one thing very clearly. Ghosts caused trouble in the mansion. Like...actual ghosts.

“Kouki, did you understand --” Seijuurou began to ask. 

Kouki screamed, loudly. 

In response, several other passengers screamed, and Seijuurou threw a hand over Kouki’s mouth.

“CALM DOWN!” he yelled at Kouki in a voice so stern, the brunette wasn’t sure which Akashi had just spoken. The Serin point guard nodded, but he could feel his eyes beginning to itch. 

“She said that there’s a ghost...” he murmured, fighting a sudden pain in his throat.

“Kouki, it’s called theming,” Seijuurou barked at him. “She didn’t want to ruin the imaginative experience of the ride just because it broke down for a moment.” 

“So...so...” Kouki mumbled. 

“There’s no actual ghost, and you’re going to scare all of the children on the ride,” Seijuurou continued in a level voice, though a hint of anger still colored his words.

At the notion that he might have upset innocent children, Kouki felt tears begin to form in his eyes. Fortunately, at that moment, the ride started moving again. He closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing, reminding himself that there was no real ghost. 

It wasn't far to the exit from where they were, and by the time they stepped off the ride, Furihata Kouki was a mess. Seijuurou took the boy’s hand in his own, only to be nearly flung off the ride by Kouki, who couldn’t get off soon enough. 

“I’m sorry,” Kouki sputtered as he walked towards the exit gripping Seijuurou's hand even tighter. His breaths were becoming shallower with each passing moment and he was unsure how much longer he could hold on before he started crying. “I’m sorry, Sei, I’m just such a coward. I probably ruined that ride for you.” 

“Kouki,” Seijuurou tried to interrupt softly, but Furihata continued over him. 

“I try to be brave, but I can’t! I’ll never be anything but a coward," his voice cracked. “I might as well just stop even trying!” 

“Kouki!” Seijuurou snapped, much louder than before. The Rakuzan captain took advantage of the fact that Kouki's hand was still intertwined with his own to drag the frightened boy over to the isolated themed stable. He released his boyfriend's hand and faced him, one-on-one. “Kouki look at me.” 

Kouki looked in the other direction as he felt a tear trickle down his face.

“Kouki, look at me!” Seijuurou commanded this time, causing Kouki to turn abruptly.  

Seijuurou’s red eyes were so focused and determined, it stunned the shaking Seirin guard into submission.

“I know that it may seem like my whole life is given to me on a silver platter,” Seijuurou began, his tone deep and serious, “and there are some things I cannot explain. I’ve been thrown every game of chance from rock-paper-scissors to guessing a playing card pulled out of a deck, and I’ve still never lost. But in basketball, in shogi, at school, and as a captain, I’ve had to  _work_ for every single thing I’ve earned. And no amount of natural talent and intelligence can keep you from sometimes having to come back from behind. But I always have. I’ve only lost three times in my entire life, Kouki. Why?” 

“Because you’re absolute, Seijuurou,” Kouki sniffled, diverting his gaze. His throat was stiff now and it no longer seemed worth it to hold back. With a heavy breath, he let out a sob. What was this all about? Now Seijuurou was bragging about his perfection? Kouki should have seen it coming. He was never good enough for Sei. To think, he had the audacity to believe that he, Furihata Kouki, could become a part of the Akashi family. Like anyone should even aspire to that, anyway. Kouki really was an idiot. 

“No,” Seijuurou responded, taking Kouki aback. “It’s because I aspired to achieve victory over anything. I wouldn’t let anything stop me: not my opponents, not my teammates, not my parents...not even my own self.” 

Kouki looked back up at Seijuurou as the young heir’s voice softened. His eyes seemed to waver in a way that was unusual for Akashi. Was he...near tears himself? Kouki blinked, and saw nothing this time. Maybe he was imagining things. But the raw emotion that suddenly cut into Seijuurou’s voice for a moment was nothing short of unusual. 

“You are so willing to just  _give up,”_ Seijuurou scolded him. Kouki held his breath again, hoping that Akashi would say something more.

“And you are capable of so much more than that! You think you are nothing but average, and worthless, and a coward, just because you’re surrounded by the Generation of Miracles and Kagami, and you don’t even realize what you could possibly accomplish! I’m telling you to take this from someone who has played to be a winner his whole life. No one can win if they declare themselves the loser before they have even given themselves the chance to claim victory!” 

“I’m sorry, Seijuurou,” Kouki apologized, hanging his head in shame as tears returned to his eyes. “I’m sorry.” 

“Furihata Kouki,” Akashi Seijuurou said with every bit of harshness and solemnity that one would expect from the bearer of his name. But as Kouki looked into those deep red eyes, they softened. 

“I don’t want you to become like me. I don’t want you to demand perfection of yourself, or to think that because you are in a relationship with an Akashi you must live up to the family name.” 

Kouki brought up one hand to dry the dampness around his eyes. He wasn’t sure what was happening, but Seijuurou had never been this candid with him before. 

“But I want you to understand your own worth. To realize that victory, in many cases, belongs to those who strive for it most. That plain, ordinary, cowardly Furihata Kouki is the one I love, because he’s neither plain nor ordinary. Nor a coward. Not if he was willing to date Akashi Seijuurou. Or to risk whatever visceral reaction my father might have if he discovered his son and heir was dating another man.” Seijuurou shook his head, and Kouki could see that he really was on the verge of tears (though he fought them back with a tenacious will that Kouki could not truly comprehend.) 

Kouki leaned in and took his boyfriend in his arms. He hadn’t meant for things to get this emotional. But, at the same time, he was touched by what Seijuurou had just said about him. He was never sure if Akashi fully understood the depth of his worries and self-doubts. To be told that he really did have courage...Kouki wasn’t sure he believed it just yet, but even the thought warmed his heart. 

“I did cry on the Haunted Mansion, though,” Kouki laughed through his tears, as he let Seijuurou rest a head on his shoulder. “That’s pretty cowardly, right?” 

Seijuurou lifted his head and looked his boyfriend in the eyes. 

“But you went on the whole thing,” he smiled. “Kagami and Kuroko don't need the details.” 

Kouki nodded and smiled for the first time since coming off the ride. Seijuurou released himself from Kouki’s grip, stood up straight, and crossed his arms.

“Now we’re going to the restroom, cleaning up, watching the fireworks, and going on Astro Orbiter,” Seijuro commanded. “Because I still have a bet to win. And there is  _no way_  that I will let myself lose!” 

 

 

 

 


End file.
